BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment
SK Telecom forges alliance with China Unicom
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-06-21 13:53
South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom has secured a foothold in
China's fast-growing wireless telephone market by forging a strategic
alliance with China Unicom.
SK Telecom said it would buy convertible bonds worth about one billion
dollars from China Unicom, the country's second largest mobile phone
operator with 130 million subscribers, on July 5.
The three-year bonds will be converted into a 6.67 percent stake, it said.
SK Telecom, which controls more than half of South Korea's wireless
market, said the deal would allow it to gain access to China, the world's
largest mobile phone market.
In February, SK Telecom was allowed to launch a six million dollar
Internet service joint venture with China Unicom.
SK Telecom has expanded its business abroad due to competition which has
heated up in South Korea since January 1, when rules were changed to
allow mobile phone users to switch carriers without changing their mobile
numbers.
"The strategic alliance will help SK Telecom secure a foothold for direct
inroads into China, which is an attractive telecom market with growth in
both quantity and quality," SK Telecom CEO Kim Shin-Bae said in a
statement.
He said the deal was part of SK Telecom's plan to strenghten its
competitive edge in the global marketplace.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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